Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced today that an Essex County jury has convicted Krisla Rezireksyon Kris, 34, of Irvington of aggravated manslaughter for starving her 8-year-old daughter Christiana Glenn to death in May of 2011.
Following a four-week trial before the Honorable Michael L. Ravin, Judge of the Superior Court, the mother was also conviction of numerous counts of endangering the welfare of her two other children who were beaten and denied food. Those children, a 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl at the time, survived.
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Simonetti, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Boswick-Lyons, said, “It is clear that the jurors worked diligently during their deliberations. The State believes that this is a just and fair verdict. While this will never bring the decedent back, it will hopefully provide some comfort to the surviving two siblings.”
Kris was charged after Christiana was found dead in the family’s Chancellor Avenue apartment in Irvington on May 22, 2011. The cause of death was starvation and an untreated broken femur – the large bone in the thigh.
Today the jury acquitted the mother of murder, the most serious charge, but found her guilty of the less serious homicide charge of aggravated manslaughter.
When she is sentenced on May 20, she faces up to 30 years in prison on the manslaughter alone and additional time for endangering the welfare of the children by beating and starving them.
Co-defendant Myriam Janvier, 28, of Elizabeth is awaiting trial. The next phase in her case will be a Miranda hearing to determine whether statements she made to the police will be admissible in court. She is presumed innocent at this time.
In addition to aggravated manslaughter, Kris, whose birth name was Venette Ovilde, was found guilty of 16 counts of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of aggravated assault.
She was charged with endangering because she withheld food from all three children, physically assaulted them, tied them to a radiator, forced them to kneel on salt with heavy objects on their heads, withheld medical care and left them home alone for extended periods of time.